Remotely operated well safety valves

ABSTRACT

A safety valve to be lowered into a well and adapted to close off the flow of production fluid upwardly from the well, and which is operated by an actuating cable or other element extending upwardly toward the surface of the earth, with the cable being preferably maintained under tension and acting to hold the valve in open condition so long as the tensioned condition exists, but to release the valve for automatic closing movement in the event of breakage of the cable or release of its tensioned condition for any other reason. The safety valve includes a ball valve element which contains a fluid passage and is mounted to turn about an axis between open an closed conditions. Vertical movement of the main actually element causes turning movement of a second part about a vertical axis, which in turn swings the ball valve between its different conditions.

' United States Patent 1191 Boyadjieff et al.

[ NOV.4,1975

Hills; Ben A. Otsap, Encino, both of Calif.

[73] Assignee: Varco International, Inc., Orange,

Calif.

[22] Filed: Aug. 22, 1974 [21] Appl. No.2 499,504

Related US. Application Data [60] Division of Ser. No. 252,808, May 12,1972, Pat. No. 3,853,175, which is a continuation-in-part of Ser. No.203,142, Nov. 30, 1971, abandoned.

[52] US. Cl 166/224 A; 251/228; 251/229 [51] Int. Cl. E21B 41/00 [58]Field of Search 166/72, 73, 224 A, 226,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,351,133 11/1967 Clark, Jr.et a1 166/53 3,675,718 7/1972 Kanady 166/224 Primary Examiner.lames A.Leppink Attorney, Agent, or Firm-William P. Green [57] ABSTRACT A safetyvalve to be lowered into a well and adapted to close off the flow ofproduction fluid upwardly from the well, and which is operated by anactuating cable or other element extending upwardly toward the surfaceof the earth, with the cable being preferably maintained under tensionand acting to hold the valve in open condition so long as the tensionedcondition exists, but to release the valve for automatic closingmovement in the event of breakage of the cable or release of itstensioned condition for any other reason. The safety valve includes aball valve element which contains a fluid passage and is mounted to turnabout an axis between open an closed conditions. Vertical movement ofthe main actually element causes turning movement of a second part abouta vertical axis, which in turn swings the ball valve between itsdifferent conditions.

9 Claims, 22 Drawing Figures 3 2,953,925 maze-240' 2 In n'llllll US.Patent Nov. 4, 1975 Sheet 2 of5 US. Patfint Nov. 4, 1975 Sheet 3 of5 .1gal U.S. Patent Nov. 4, 1975 Sheet4 0f5 3,916,992

US. Patent Nov. 4, 1975 Sheet 5 of 5 REMOTELY OPERATED WELL SAFETYVALVES This is a division of application Ser. No. 252,808, filed May12,1972, which was a continuation-in-part of application S.N. 203,142filed Nov. 30, 1971.

. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to improved safetyvalves for closing off the flow of production fluid upwardly through awell in the event of failure of some of the well equipment.

In a producing well, it is highly desirable to provide some type ofsafety mechanism for closing off the flow of production fluid upwardlythrough the well and to the surface of the earth in the event ofarupture or leak in one of the lines conducting that fluid, or in theevent of any other type of derangement which might release oil into thesurrounding area in uncontrolled fashion. This is particularly true, forexample, in the case of wells drilled under a body of water, in whichcase the escape of even small amounts of oil from the well may veryseriously pollute the water. These have in the past been devised varioustypes of safety valves for closing off the'flow of production fluid froma well, but all of these prior safety valves of which we are aware areeither relatively difficult to position in the well or to opcute, or arenot as positive as would be desired in closing off the fluid flow 'underany adverse conditions which may develop. Most'such prior valves havebeen operated by fluid pressure from the surface of the earth, and havebeen constructed in a manner requiring removal o'f the tubing stringfrom the well in order to permit installation of the safety valvetherein.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a novel type ofsafety valve which can be very easily and quickly lowered to a pointdeep within a producing well, while the production tubing remainspositioned in the well, and therefore in a manner avoiding the usualnecessity for laborious removal and then replacement of the tubingduring installation of the safety valve. Further, the valve isconstructed to be remotely operated from the surface of the earthwithout the necessity for the usual hydraulic control line extendingdownwardly within the well to the region of the valve. In addition, thevalve may be designed to respond automatically to any of numerousdifferent changes in condition in or near the well, as for instance achange in pressure, temperature, or the like at-the surface of theearth, or damage of any type to the well caused by surface storms,explosions, or other adverse conditions. i v

i For controlling operation of the valve, there is provided an elongatedactuating unit, preferably a wire line or other flexible cable, whichextends downwardly from the surface of the earth and functions tocontrol the valve in response to longitudinal movement of the elongatedelement. This element may,while the well is producing, be'maintained inalongitudinally stressed condition, with the valve remaining open solong as that stressed condition exists. Optimally, the stressedconditained under longitudinal compression rather than tension while thevalve is open.

A piston and cylinder mechanism or other operating unit can be providedat the surface of the earth for developing and maintaining the stressedcondition of the cable or other actuating element, in a manner such thateither an intentional or unintentional reduction in fluid pressure orthe like at the operating unit will release the stressed condition ofthe cable and close the safety valve. Further, if the cable or otheractuating element is broken by any type of explosion or otherderangement at the surface of the earth, or the longitudinal force isreleased in any other way, the valve will always function in fail-safemanner to close off the fluid flow until the adverse condition has beencorrected.

The safety valve is of a type in which the valve element proper consistsof a ball containing a passage through which the well fluid may flow inone condition of the valve but which is blocked off to a closedcondition by pivotal or rotary movement of the ball to a predeterminedclosed position, with this rotary movement of the ball being controlledby actuation of the previously discussed vertically movable wireline ofother actuating member. Vertical movement of the actuating element actsto turn another operating part about a vertical axis, and that part thenturns the ball valve between closed and open conditions.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The above and other features andobjects of the invention will be better understood from the following Idetailed description of the accompanying drawings in which,

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic representation of a producing oil wellcontaining a first form of remotely operated safety shutoff valve whichis covered in our above identified parent application S.N. 252,808 ofwhich the present application is a division;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged vertical or axial sectional view showing the mainoperative portions of the apparatus of FIG. 1, illustrated in threepartial views which are continuations of one another;

FIG. 3 is a further enlarged view similar to a portion of FIG. 2, andshowing the safety valve in closed condition;

FIG. 4 shows the cable attaching connection of FIG. 2 in separatedcondition;

FIG. 5 is a somewhat diagrammatic representation of a different type ofoperating unit for the FIG. 1 valve assembly;

FIG. 6 shows the manner in which the cable can be connected to the valveby conventional running equipment if desired;

FIG. 7 is a view similar to, the left-hand portion of FIG. 2, butshowing its type of safety valve assembly which is covered primarily bythe present divisional application, with the valve in FIG. 7 beingillustrated in its open condition;

FIG. 8 shows the valve of FIG. 7 in closed condition;

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary view. taken partially on line 9-9 of FIG. 7, butbroken away to reveal various inner parts of the tool;

FIG. 10 is a view similar to FIG. 9 but showing the safety valve inclosed condition;

FIG. 11 is an enlarged horizontal section taken on line l1 ll of FIG. 7;

FIG. 12 is a greatly enlarged vertical section through the pressureequalizing valve of FIG. 8;

FIG. 13 is an enlarged perspective view, partially broken away, showingthe ball valve and related parts in the open condition of FIGS. 7 and 9;

FIG. 14 is a perspective view similar to FIG. 13 but showing the ballvalve closed;

FIG. 15 is a vertical section taken on line 1515 of FIG. 13;

FIG. 16 is a view taken essentially on line 1616 of FIG. 9;

FIG. 17 is a fragmentary vertical section on line l7l7 of FIG. 14; i

FIG. 18 is a vertical section similar to FIG. 7 and the left-handportion of FIG. 2 but showing another form of safety valve which iscovered in another divisional application;

FIG. 19 shows the valve tion;

FIG. 20 is a somewhat diagrammatic representation of the cam mechanismof FIG. 18, taken primarily on line 20-20 of FIG. 18;

FIG. 21 shows the FIG. 20 cam mechanism in the closed valve condition;and

FIG. 22 is a section taken on line 2222 of FIG. 20.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS With reference first to FIG. 1,I have illustrated diagrammatically in that figure a well having theusual casing 11 and containing within the casing an essentiallyconventional string of production tubing 12 extending downwardly fromwell head 13 to a location near the production zone 14. The tubingstring is formed of a series of tubing sections interconnected connectedin end-to-end relation by internally threaded couplings 15, and with thelower end 16 of the tubing being open to upward flow of oil or otherproduction fluid into the interior of the tubing and out its upper endto a storage tank 116 or distribution line. A safety valve unit 17 ispositioned within the tubing, desirably near its lower end, and isadapted to be located in the tubing and sealed with respect thereto by alanding and sealing unit 18, which may either be constructed integrallywith valve unit 17 or be a separately formed and attached conventionallanding and sealing unit. The safety valve is controlled by an elongatedflexible cable 20, desirably of the type commonly referred to as awireline which cable extends upwardly to the surface of the earth and iscontrolled at that location by a suitable manually actuated or poweractuated operating mechanism represented at 19 in the drawings.

To describe now the structure of the valve unit 17 in detail, this unitincludes a lower body section 21 having a tubular vertical side wall 22centered along vertical axis 23 of the well and terminating downwardlyin a closed externally rounded lower nose portion 24. At 25, the sidewall 22 of lower body section 21 contains a series of circularly spacedapertures through which production fluid can flow inwardly into theinterior of body section 21 and then upwardly through an annular valveseat element 26 which is held downwardly against a shoulder 27 byengagement with the lower annular end surface of a tubular second bodysection 28 contained within the upper soemwhat enlarged diameter tubularportion 29 of the first body section 21. The two body sections may besecured tightly together by of FIG. 18 in closed condithreads 30, withan annular fluid tight seal being formed therebetween at 31, and withseat 26 being sealed with respect to body section 21 by an annular sealelement 32.

The landing and sealing unit 18 is connected to the upper end of thevalve body structure 21-28, and is typically and somewhatdiagrammatically illustrated as of a well-known conventional key-typehaving a tubular mandrel 33 disposed about a tubular body 133 andmovably carrying a number of locating keys or dogs 34 contoured to fitinto a mating locating groove or plurality of grooves 35 formed in acoacting tubular landing nipple or collar connected into the string oftubing 12. When set, unit 18 holds the valve positively in the positionillustrated in FIG. 2. In accordance with known teachings, keys 34 maybe spring pressed radially outwardly within apertures formed in mandrel33, to automatically move outwardly into groove 35 when they reach thelocation of the groove. After such outward movement the keys are lockedin these outer holding positions in conventional manner by predeterminedmanipulation of body 133 from the surface of the earth, as for instanceby a rapid vertical jarring of body 133 acting to shear a connectionbetween body 133 and mandrel 33 and move a locking or camming portion ofthe body into a position behind or radially inwardly of the keys. Afterbeing set in this way, the keys and related parts very positively holdmandrel 33 and body 133 against both upward and downward movementrelative to nipple 135. In lieu of this keytype landing device typicallyillustrated in FIG. 2, the landing equipment may be of any otherconventional type, such as for example a type having slips adapted to beforced outwardly against the tubing in frictional holding relation, orhaving lugs which are receivable between the ends of successive lengthsof the tubing 12, and in each case functioning to hold the valve in afixed vertical position.

The landing and sealing unit 18 also carries an appropriate annular sealring 37 of rubber or the like, adapted to annularly engage the innersurface of nipple 135 in a relation forming an effective annular sealbetween the tubing and body 113, to thus prevent upwardly flow of any ofthe production fluid between these parts. The lower end of body 133 maybe connected threadedly to the upper end of a tubular adapter 38, withseal ring 37 being clamped between shoulders on these two parts. Thelower end of adapter 38 may be threadedly connected in turn to the upperend of valve body section 28, and may clamp a fluid passing spider 39 inposition between the lower end of adapter 38 and the upper end ofelement 28, as shown. This spider 39 has circularly spaced fluid passingapertures 40, with webs 41 extending radially between these aperturesand carrying a central bushing or guide element 42 slidably receiving alater-to-be-described guide rod 43 movable vertically along axis 23. Theupper end of body 133 may be threadedly connected at 44 to a tubularfitting 45 having an annular shoulder 46 at its upper end which isengageable by a conventional fishing tool to enable upward removal ofthe valve assembly from the tubing when desired.

For closing off the upward flow of fluid through the apparatus of FIG.2, the valve assembly 17 includes a valve element 47 which has outercylindrical surfaces 48 engaging the inner cylindrical surface of bodywall 22 to guide valve element 47 for only upward and downward movementwithin body section 21 along axis 23. Near its lower end, the valveelement 47 is sealed with respect to side wall 22 by means of an annularseal ring 49. The upper annular conically tapering surface 50 on element47 is engageable with valve seat 26 in FIG. 3 closed position of thevalve, to positively and effectively block off any upward flow of thefluid past the seat and into the interior of the upper portion of tubing12.

Valve element 47 contains a downwardly opening typically cylindricalchamber 51 within which there is received a bleed valve element 52having an annular tapered valve surface 53 engageable annularly insealing relation with a valve seat surface 54 formed in element 47 atthe lower end of a vertical typically cylindrical bleed passage 54. Acoil spring 55 disposed about the enlarged portion 56 of bleed valveelement 52 acts against a flange 57 to urge the bleed valve upwardlyrelative to the valve body and relative to valve element 47 and towardthe closedvalve highest position of FIG. 3. In that FIG. 3 position,valve surface 53 is held tightly against seat surface 54 in sealingrelation effectively preventing the upward leakage of any pressure fluidfrom within chamber 51 through passage 54 to the upper side of valveelement 47.

A rod 58 extends upwardly from bleed valve 52, and is rigidly connectedby threads or otherwise to an enlarged head element 59 at the upper sideof element 47, with this head element having a downwardly facingshoulder 60 engageable with the upper surface of valve element 47 todisplace it downwardly toward the FIG. 2 open position of element 47.Rod 58 has an outside diameter smaller than the internal diameter ofpassage 54', to allow relatively free fluid flow vertically throughpassage 54 between the underside and upper side of element 47 in theopen condition of bleed valve 52, with head 59 containing suitablenotches 160 interrupting shoulder 60 to permit fluid flow upwardlytherepast even when the shoulder is in engagement with valve 47. Thelower end of bleed valve 52 carries a downwardly projecting second rod61, which like rod 58 is centered about and extends along axis 23, andwhich extends through a vertical cylindrical passage 62 formed in thelower end of body section 21. Rod 61 is spaced from the wall of passage62 in a manner leaving a substantial clearance for upward flow ofpressure fluid from the underside of body section 21 to the interior ofchamber 51. However, the transverse area of the clearance space aboutrod 61 is not as great as the effective minimum transverse area of theclearance space about the upper rod 58, and through notches 160, so thatupon opening of valve element 52 the pressure from chamber 51 can bebled rapidly to a valve approximately equalling the pressure at theupper side of element 47, while the gap about rod 61 is too restrictedto permit enough flow to prevent this drop in pressure.

The element 59 and its connected bleed valve 52 are actuated downwardlyin response to upward movement of rod 43 and tensioning cable 20,through a mechanical reversing mechanism 63. This mechanism includes anendless flexible chain 64 whose upper end extends about a small roller65 mounted to the lower end or rod 43 for rotary movement about ahorizontal axis 66. The

two generally vertical runs 164 of this chain flare progressively apartas they extend downwardly from upper roller 65, to pass about two spacedlower rollers 67 which are mounted appropriately to body section 28 forrelative rotary movement about two spaced parallel horizontal axes 68 atopposite sides of element 59. After passing about the two rollers 67,chain 64 in extending between those rollers extend across the upperrounded end 69 of element 59, and is appropriately located thereon in amanner preventing it from slipping off of end 69, so that as rod 43moves upwardly between the FIG. 3 and FIG. 2 positions, the portion ofchain 64 between the two rollers 67 is automatically reduced in lengthto force element 59 and the connected bleed valve 52 downwardly betweenits FIG. 3 and FIG. 2 positions. After the initial opening movement ofthe bleed valve, further downward movement of element 59 causes shoulder60 to engage the upper horizontal surface of valve element 47, andthereby force that valve element downwardly. As will be understood, theinitial opening movement of the bleed valve allows the high pressurefrom the underside of valve element 47 to bleed upwardly through passage54 to its upper side and thereby equalize the pressure at the top andbottom of element 47 in a manner preventing the well pressure fromresisting opening movement of the main valve.

The upward pulling force exerted on cable 20 from the surface of theearth is transmitted to rod 43 through a vertically extending landingweight 70, which carries a typically rigid depending rod 71 extendingalong axis 23. At its lower end, rod 71 may be detachably connectible torod 43 by a connection 72, including a generally tubular connectorelement 73 disposed about the lower end of rod 71 and having circularlyspaced fingers 74 which are expansible to the FIG. 2 locking position bymovement upwardly into these fingers of an enlarged lower end 75 of rod71. The fingers when expanded are received within an annular internalgroove 76 formed in a mating hollow connector part 77 which isthreadedly connected at 78 to the upper end of rod 43. When the cable 20is initially lowered into the well, lower enlarged end 75 of rod 71 isin the FIG. 4 posi tion of projection downwardly beyond element 73, sothat fingers 74 are held inwardly in their FIG. 4 positions by virtue ofthe resilience of element 73, until element 73 has been moved downwardlyinto the interior of the socket element 77, following which rod 71 andits portion 75 can be pulled upwardly to the FIG. 2 setting to lock thetwo connector parts together. A transverse shear pin 79 may extendthrough a transverse opening in rod 71 beneath an upper internal flange80 of element 73, so that by forced upward movement of rod 71 shear pin79 can be broken and enlargement 75 can thus be withdrawn upwardly fromwithin fingers 74, allowing those fingers to contract inwardly andrelease the connection between cable 20 and the valve mechanism.

The apparatus 19 at the surface of the earth for actuating cable 20includes a tubular hydraulic cylinder element 81 (FIG. 2), containing atubular piston element 82, in a manner leaving an open vertical fluidflow passage 83 within the interior of the piston. The annular cylinderchamber 84 receives pressure fluid through a small supply line 85connecting into the lower end of the annular chamber at 86, to forcepiston 82 hydraulically upwardly relative to cylinder 81 in response tothe introduction of pressure fluid into chamber 84. The piston andcylinder are sealed annularly with respect to one another at 87 and 88.The upper enlarged diameter portion 182 of the piston carries a fluidpassing spider 89 which mounts a central tubular element 90 throughwhich the upper end of cable extends for connection to a rigid upper endmember 91 which bears downwardly against portion 90 to restrain thecable against downward movement. The upper enlarged head 92 of element91 acts as a fishing neck, for engagement with a fishing tool towithdraw the cable upwardly if desired.

In FIG. 2, the conventional well head is represented at 13, and thelower portion of the main flow contain valve assembly or Christmas treeis represented at 94. The piston and cylinder mechanism 81-82 isdesirably suspended from an annular adapter flange 95 which is locatedvertically between the flanges of the well head 93 and valve assembly94, and is suitably secured in any convenient manner thereto, withappropriate annular sealing as represented at 96 and 97. To effect thissuspension, the upper end of cylinder 81 may be secured threadedly to avertical supporting tube 98, appropriately sealed with respect to thecylinder at 99, and with respect to flange 95 at 100. The outer surfaceof tube 98 may have an annular groove 101 within which a number ofcircularly spaced locking dogs 102 are receivable in the FIG. 2 relationeffectively supporting element 98 and the connected piston and cylindermechanism in fixed position relative to the well head. The dogs 102 maybe mounted for radial movement within guideways 103, and are actuableradially inwardly and outwardly by locking elements 104 which may bethreadedly connected to the flange at 105. The upper end of element 98may carry a fishing neck 106 which is engageable with an appropriatefishing tool to enable removal of the unit 19 upwardly from the wellwhen desired. Pressure fluid is delivered to tube 85 from an inlet line106 connecting into a passage 107 in flange 95, which passagecommunicates with the upper end of a passage 108 in part 98, and thenthrough a passage 109 in part 81 with the upper end of tube 85 at 110.The pressurized hydraulic fluid for actuating piston 82 may be deliveredto line 106 from an appropriate pressure source 111 (FIG. 3) under thecontrol of a three way valve 112 which can selectively either apply orrelease the piston actuating pressure. It is contemplated that thisvalve 112 may be controlled automatically by any desired responsemechanism associated with the well, to apply or release the pressureautomatically in response to a predetermined change in condition, and/orthe valve may be operated manually.

In installing the safety valve apparatus of FIGS. 1 to 4 in a well, thevalve assembly 17 and connected landing and sealing assembly 18 arefirst of all lowered into the well separately from cable 20 and itsconnected weight 70, rod 71, and element 73. This valve and landingassembly 17-18 can be lowered by conventional wireline running equipmentengaging the upper shoulder 46 on the apparatus. The valve is lowered toa position near the bottom of production tubing 12, as illustrated inFIG. 1, or just above the well pump if a pump is provided, and to aposition in which locating keys 34 move outwardly into grooves 35, andthe running equipment is then actuated in conventional manner to lockkeys 34 in those grooves. If slips or other movable gripping elementsare employed, the running mechanism is appropriately actuated to set theslips or the like in holding position against the tubing wall or betweenspaced ends of two lengths of tubing, etc. Thus, the valve iseffectively located in positively fixed position and is sealed withrespect to the tubing 12, so that production fluid can flow upwardlythrough the tubing only if valve 47 is open.

After the valve and landing equipment have thus been lowered into andlocated within the well, cable 20 and the connected weight 70, rod 71and element 73 are lowered into the well, with element 73 in theupwardly retracted relative position of FIG. 4, until the lower enlargedend 75 of rod 71 enters socket element 77 and fingers 74 are receivedwithin groove 76 in the socket element, after which the cable and rod 71are pulled upwardly to expand the fingers outwardly and lock them inholding engagement with the socket. During the final portion of thedownward movement of the cable, the cylinder 81, piston 82, andconnected parts at the upper end of the cable are lowered downwardly totheir FIG. 2 positions, and are suspended from flange in those positionsby radially inward tightening of locking dogs 103.

During this installing procedure, valve 47 will normally be in closedposition, and bleed valve 52 will normally be urged upwardly againstseat 54 as illustrated in FIG. 3. When it is desired to place the wellin pro duction, pressure fluid is applied to piston 82 through line 106of FIG. 2, to force the piston upwardly relative to cylinder 81, andthereby displace the upper end of cable 20 upwardly to the FIG. 2position. The initial portion of this upward movement of the cablecauses bleed valve 52 to open against the force of spring 55, and bleedpressure from the underside of the piston upwardly in a mannerequalizing the pressure at the top and bottom of the piston and allowingelement 59 on further downward movement to very easily displace piston47 to its FIG. 2 fully opened position. The location of shoulder 60 atthe lower end of element 59 is such as to allow for sufficient lostmotion between element 59 and piston 47 to permit the indicated openingof bleed valve 52 before commencement of the downward movement of mainsafety valve 47.

After valve 47 has thus been actuated to its fully opened FIG. 2position, the piston 82 is subsequently, under normal operatingconditions, maintained continually under pressure, to thereby keepwireline 20 in its longitudinally tensioned condition, retaining valve47 open, and thus allowing free upward flow of production fluid throughthe tubing and to the surface of the earth. If at any time this pressureto the piston is cut off, as by closing of valve 112, either manually orin automatic response to a predetermined change of condition orconditions in the well equipment, or by rupture of line 106 or anyconnecting line, or failure of the pressure source 111, piston 82 isimmediately permitted to return downwardly to its initial position andthereby relieve the tensioning force on cable 20, and permit return ofvalve 47 to its FIG. 3 closed position. The initial upward movement ofelement 59 upon downward releasing movement of cable 20 enables bleedvalve 52 to close against seat 54, after which the restrictedcommunication of pressure to the interior of chamber 51 through theclearance space about lower rod 61 is sufficient to build up a highpressure within chamber 51 and at the underside of piston valve 47approximately equalling the well pressure, thus causing upward movementof valve 47 against the lower pressure at its upper side and to the FIG.3 setting. Similar closing of the valve is automatically attained if thetensioned cable 20 is broken in any way, as for instance by an explosionor other damage occurring at the surface of the earth or elsewhere. Theapparatus thus effectively prevents unwanted flow of production fluidinto the tubing under virtually any adverse condition which may develop.

FIG. shows diagrammatically a variational arrangement, which may beconsidered the same as that of FIGS. 1 to,4 except for the manner inwhich operating tension is applied to the upper end of cable a.Specifically, in FIG. 5, the cable after extending upwardly from thevalve 17 and landing and sealing assembly 18 .of FIG. 2 passes about apulley 113 which is mounted in the well head equipment 114 to turn abouta horizontal axis, with the cable then extending horizontally at 115 forconnection to any conventional type of manually actuated or poweractuated operating mechanism represented at 116. This unit 116 may forexample be a hydraulicly actuated operator of the type conventionallyemployed for opening and closing gate valves in well head equipment. Theunit 116 applies tension force to cable 20a, and maintains the cableunder such tension continually while the well is producing, and until amanually or automatically operated control element releases the tensionand permits closing of the valve.

FIG. 6 illustrates another way in which the cable 20b (corresponding tocable 20 of FIGS. 1 to 4) can be attached to the upper end of a rod 43bcorresponding to rod 43 of FIG. 2. More particularly, the cable 20b ofFIG. 6 may have a socket element 117 at its lower end for receiving anenlarged head 118 attached to the valve actuating rod 43b, withcircularly spaced balls 119 being contained within openings in the sidewall of element 117 and adapted to be actuated inwardly to positions ofholding engagement with the underside of head 118 by relative upwardmovement of a locking tube 120 under the influence of a spring 121,whose lower end bears against a ring 122 which is fixed with respect tothe side wall of socket element 117. The element 177 is lowered by andwithin a part 123 connected to a conventional running element 124suspended from a running wire-line 125. Externally, part 123 may havebowed springs 126 engageable with the side of the tubing 12b to maintainelement 123 in c-entered position. The operating wireline of the presentapparatus 20b extends upwardly through a cutaway recess 127 formed inone side of element 123, which recess continues downwardly as anelongated vertical slit 227 through the side wall 128 of part 123 and toits lower end 129, so that element 123 can be pulled upwuardly away frompart 117 and wireline 20b after lowering these parts into the well.

During the lowering of element 123 into the well, elements 117 and 120are received within the socket recess 223 in part 123, but element 117is held downwardly far enough relative to part 120 by spring 121 tocause balls 117 to engage the reduced diameter surface 130 of element120. When the parts reach rod 43b, element 117'moves downwardly aboutthat rod, and balls 119 may be simultaneously released by exertion ofupward pulling force against cable 20b to actuate the balls to areleased position of engagement with enlarged diameter surface 131 inelement 120, so that the retracted balls can move downwardly past head118. When this upward force is exerted against cable 20b, element 123acts through a shoulder 228 to force element 120 downwardly relative topart 117 and balls 118 and against the influence of spring 121. uponsubsequent release of cable 20b, element 117 is spring actuated upwardlyto bring surface 130 into engagement with balls 119, and thus deflectthe balls radially inwardly at the underside of head 118 for retainingengagement with bottom shoulder 132. The cable 201) is in this wayconnected to the valve actuating mechanism, and the running line 125 andconnected element 123 can then be withdrawn upwardly out of the well, sothat cable 201) may be tensioned and utilized to operate the valve inthe manner previously discussed.

FIGS. 7 through 17 show the form of safety valve assembly 17c with whichthe present divisional application is especially concerned, and, inwhich the valve el ement proper takes the form of a pivotally orrotatively movable ball valve 134 containing a fluid passage 135. Withparticular reference to FIG. 7, the apparatus there shown may besubstituted for the mechanism shown in the left one-third of FIG. 2, andmay be considered as connected to and utilized in conjunction with thelanding and sealing mechanism 18, operating mechanism 19, cable 20, head13, and the other apparatus and parts shown in the right two-thirds ofFIG. 2 and related views, or by any other suitable landing and actuatingstructures.

The outer body or housing 136 of the assembly shown in FIG. 7 may beformed of two upper and lower rigid tubular body parts 137 and 138secured together by threads 139 which are annularly sealed at 140. Atits upper end, body part 137 is threadedly connected at 141 to the lowerend of a part 133a corresponding to element 133 of FIG. 2, to therebysecure the valve assembly to the lower end of the landing and sealingunit 18 of that figure. An annular packer 37c in FIG. 7 is disposedabout element 133a and corresponds to sealing element 37 of FIG. 2, toform an annular seal at that location between the tool and the welltubing 12 within which it is contained. A rod 710 in FIG. 7 correspondsto rod 71 of FIG. 2, and is connected at its upper end to landing weightand thereabove to flexible wireline 20.

Rod 710 is connected to a tubular vertically extending member 142 whichis contained within tool body 136 and is centered about the verticalaxis 143 of the tool body and the production. tubing 12. This attachmentis effected by meansfof a releasable connection or disconnect 72c whichis structurally very similar to the disconnect 72 of FIG. 2. Moreparticularly, connection 720 may include a tubular element 730 disposedabout a vertical rigid rod 144which is threadedly connected at 145 tothe lower end of rod 71c and forms a lower continuation thereof. Element730 forms a series of circularly spaced vertical gripping fingers 740,which are expansible to their FIG. 7 locking positions by receptiontherein of an externally cylindrical lower portion c of element 144, andin that locking position are received within an annular groove 760formed in a hollow bottom connector part 770 which is rigidly connectedto the lower end of tube 142 by a spider arrangement 146 containingapertures 147 through which the well fluid may pass the disconnect. Ashear pin 790 extends transversely through registering apertures in rod144 and a sleeve 148 thereabout, to exert upward force on the disconnectand tube 142 through the shear pin except when excessive force isexerted upwardly on the rod 710 to purposely break the pin and allowremoval of the cable 20 separately from the valve mechanism.

Tube 142 is yieldingly urged downwardly within and relative to tool body136 by means ofa coil spring 149, which tends to return the tube andconnected parts downwardly to the FIG. 8 closed position of the valve.Vertical movement of tube 142 is converted to rotary movement of anotherrigid tube 150 disposed thereabout by means of a camming mechanism 151,including a pair of camming pins 152 projecting radially outwardly fromtube 142 at diametrically opposite locations and received within two camslots 153 formed in tube 150 and having the configuration illustrated inFIG. 9. As will be apparent, in the lowermost FIGS. 8 and position oftube 142, the camming pins 152 are received in the lower ends of camslots 153, while in the uppermost position of tube 142 (FIGS. 7 and 9),the cam pins are received in the upper ends of the cam slots. Thus,vertical movement of tube 142 relative to tube 150 causes rotarymovement of tube 150 relative to tube 142 about vertical axis 143through a predetermined angular distance, say for example about 60.

This rotary motion of tube 150 about vertical axis 143 is converted topivotal or rotary movement of ball valve 134 about a horizontal axis 154by means of a pin 155 which is rigidly carried by and projects generallyradially inwardly from a side wall of lower body part 138, and which isreceived within a recess 156 formed in the outer surface of ball 134. Todescribe the ball valve 134 more specifically, this valve has an outersurface 157 which is spherical about a center 158 lying at theintersection of vertical axis 143 and the horizontal pivotal axis 154 ofthe ball. The previously mentioned passage or bore 135 extending throughball 134 may be cylindrical and of a diameter corresponding tocylindrical bores or passages 159 and 161 formed in two tubular valveseat elements 162 and 163 at the upper and lower sides respectively ofthe valve element. Upper seat element 162 has an annular sphericallycurved seat surface 165 annularly engageable with cylindrical surface157 of the ball, while lower seat element 163 has a correspondinglyspherically curved seat surface 166 also engageable annularly with valvesurface 157. Seat element 162 is yieldingly urged downwardly relative totube 150 by a coil spring 167 and is sealed annularly with respect totube 150 by a ring 169 of rubber or the like. Similarly, lower seatelement 163 is urged upwardly relative to body part 138 by a spring 168,and is sealed by a seal ring 169. Tube 150 is sealed externally withrespect to body part 138 by two annular seal rings 170 and 171. Spring167 exerts downward force against seat element 162 and upward forceagainst tube 150 by engagement with a shoulder 172 thereon, while spring168 exerts upward force against seat element 163 and downward forceagainst outer body 138, so that the overall effect is to hold the seatstightly against ball 134, and to urge tube 150 upwardly against a thrustbearing 173 which engages a downwardly facing shoulder 174 at the lowerend of upper body section 137. Thus, the entire assembly consisting oftube 150, ball 134, and seat elements 162 and 163 is retained againstany substantial vertical movement within the tool body, while permittingrotation of these parts about vertical axis 143 under the influence ofthe previously discussed cam mechanism 151.

The ball 134 is mounted for its limited pivotal movement between theFIG. 7 and FIG. 8 positions by means of two cylindrical mounting pins orstub shafts 175 which are carried rigidly by two downwardly projectingmounting arms 176 formed by tube at diametrically oppositesides of theball, with the inner reduced diameter portions of pins being received inbearing engagement within openings 177 formed in the opposite sides ofthe ball. At the locations of mounting arms 176, the ball 134 may havetwo parallel opposite side flats 178, abutting against arms 176, toconfine the ball against movement of any type except rotatively aboutaxis 154.

In using the ball type valve assembly of FIGS. 7 through 17, thatassembly and the connected landing and sealing unit 18 of FIG. 2 arelowered into the well in the same manner discussed in connection withthe FIG. 2 apparatus, and at a predetermined location in the well thelanding mechanism is actuated to lock that mechanism in fixed and sealedcondition therein. The cable 20, landing weight 70, rod 71c andconnector elements 144 and 73c are then lowered into the well andconnected to the valve assembly as in FIG. 7. The actuating equipmentnear the surface of the earth as seen in FIG. 2 is connected to theupper end of the cable, and is actuated to pull the cable upwardly andhold it in tensioned condition. The upward movement of the cable pullstube 142 upwardly from the FIG. 8 position to the FIG. 7 position, andacts through cam mechanism 152-153 to cause rotation of tube 150 aboutvertical axis 143, which in turn acts through pin 155 to cause rotarymovement of ball valve 134 about horizontal axis 154 from its FIG. 8closed position to its FIG. 7 open position in which well fluid may passupwardly without substantial restriction through the interior of theball and to the surface of the earth. If at any time the cable 20 isbroken or its tension is in any way released, as in the event of damageto the surface equipment or release of the tensioning fluid pressure atthe surface of the earth, tube 142 is immediately and automaticallyactuated downwardly by spring 149 to its FIG. 8 position, to cam lowertube 150 in a reverse rotary direction, and thereby actuate valveelement 134 about its horizontal axis 154 to the FIG. 8 closed position,in which both of the seat elements 162 and 163 engage the ball annularlyabout passages 159 and 161 and about imperforate portions of the ball topositively close off the flow of well fluid upwardly past the ball.

In order to equalize the pressure at opposite sides of the valve 134 asthat valve is opened upon upward tensioning of cable 20, there may beprovided in the side wall of upper body section 137 one or moreequalizing valves 179 (FIG. 12), each of which may include a valveelement 180 which is yieldingly urged radially inwardly relative to athreadedly mounted backing element 280 by a spring 181 and against avalve seat 182 to normally prevent the flow of well fluid inwardlythrough an opening 183 to the interior of the body 137. At its innerend, this valve element 180 may have a taperihg portion 184 whichprojects inwardly into the path of the upper edge portion 185 of tube142, to be deflected radially outwardly by that edge against thetendency of spring 181 from the broken line closed position of FIG. 12to the full line open position, upon the initiation of upward movementof tube 142. Thus, as soon as the tube is pulled slightly upwardly bythe cable, the equalizing valveor valves 179 are opened, to equalize thepressure at opposite sides of the ball valve 134 and thereby facilitateopening movement of the ball valve and the related parts.

FIGS. 18 through 22 show another safety valve arrangement 17d, in whichthe valve element proper 187 takes the form of a ball valve similar tothat of FIGS. 7 to 17, but which is actuable vertically rather thanrotatively to open and close the valve. Certain features of thisarrangement of FIGS. 18 through 22 are to be cov ered in anotherdivisional patent application. The outer body 188 of the FIGS. 18 to 22tool may be formed of three rigid tubular body sections 189, 190, and191 secured together by threads 192 and 193 and sealed annularlyadjacent the threaded connections by seal rings 194 and 195. The upperend of top body section 189 is connected to the lower end of a landingand sealing unit such as that shown at 18 in FIG. 2, by attachment to amember 13311 corresponding to element 133 of FIG. 2, with a seal ring37d being provided for annular sealing engagement with the inner wall ofproduction tubing 12. Cable 20 and landing weight 70 of FIG. 2 areconnected through rod 71d to a vertically movable tube 196 through areleasable connection 72d constructed essentially the same as disconnect720 of FIG. 7. The tube 196 is yieldingly urged downwardly by a spring149d corresponding to spring 149 of FIG. 7, and carries one or more(typically two) camming pins 152d which are received within cammingslots 153d in a cam tube 197 which is confined axially and retained foronly rotary motion about vertical axis 143d by engagement at itsopposite ends with two bearing sleeves 198 and 199 engaging the lowerend of body section 189 and a shoulder 200 of body section 190respectively.

Near its lower end, cam tube 197 contains one or more additional camslots 201, which may be shaped as illustrated in FIGS. 20 and 21 andreceive as many outwardly projecting cam pins 202 carried by a lowervertically movable tube 203. This tube has an annular valve seat surface204 near its lower end, which annularly engages ball valve 187, with theball being mounted for pivotal movement relative to tube 203 about ahorizontal axis 205 by means of two mounting pins 206 carried by a pairof downwardly projecting diametrically opposite arms 207 formed at thelower end of tube 203. A lower seat element 208 may be formed as a tube,as shown, and have a valve seat surface 209 annularly engageable withball 187. A coil spring 210 yieldingly urges seat element 208 upwardlyagainst the ball, to form an effective annular seal therewith. An ringor other deformable seal ring 211 forms an annular seal between tube 203and outer body part 191 at a location above the ball valve.

A pin 212 carried by lower body section 191 projects into a recess 213in ball 187, at a location offset from pivotal axis 206, and in arelation to cause rotary movement of the ball between open and closedpositions in response to vertical movement of tube 203 and the ball. Forequalizing the pressure between the inside and outside of the tool body,there may be provided near the upper end of the tool body one or morespring pressed equalizing valves 179d corresponding to valves 179 ofFIG. 7.

In using the valve assembly of FIG. 18, this assembly is first loweredinto a well to a desired subsurface location with a connected landingand sealing unit such as for example that shown at 18 in FIG. 2, andthat unit is then actuated to secure and seal the unit in the well atthat position. The cable, landing weight, rod 71d, and carried connectorparts 144d and 73d are then lowcred into the well and connected to theother half 77d of disconnect 72d, in the condition illustrated in FIG.19. The cable is then pulled upwardly and fastened in tensionedcondition by apparatus such as that shown in the right-hand portion ofFIG. 2, or as shown in FIG. 5, or by other appropriate means, to raisetube 196 against the tendency of spring 149 from the FIG. 19 position tothe FIG. 18 position. As brought out best in FIGS. 20 and 21, thisupward movement of tube 196 acts through cam elements 152d and 153d tocause rotation of tube 197 about the vertical axis of the tool, and thatrotation is then reconverted by cam elements 201 and 202 to downwardmovement of lower tube 203, ball 187 and bottom seat element 208. Uponsuch downward movement, pin 212 acts to turn ball 187 about axis 205from the closed position of FIGS. 19 and 21 to the open position ofFIGS. 20 and 22, in which position the valve is thereafter retained bythe tensioned condition of the cable until conditions occur whichrelease the cable and allow automatic closure of the valve by spring149d.

While certain specific apparatus embodying the present invention hasbeen disclosed as typical, the invention is of course not limited to theparticular structure disclosed but rather is applicable broadly to allsuch variations as fall within the scope of the appended claims.

We claim:

1. Well safety apparatus comprising a safety valve adapted to be loweredinto a well and actuable between an open condition for passingproduction fluid upwardly through said well and a closed conditionshutting off such fluid flow, and an elongated actuating element toextend upwardly from said valve through the well toward the surface ofthe earth and adapted to be moved longitudinally from its upper end andacting in response to said longitudinal movement to cause actuation ofsaid valve between said two conditions thereof, said valve including aball valve element having an external spherically curved surface andcontaining a passage through which production fluid may flow and mountedto turn about an axis between open and closed positions, a memberadapted to be moved vertically by said actuating element, a structuremounted to turn about essentially a vertical axis in response tovertical movement of said member, and means for turning said ball valveelement about its axis in response to said turning movement of said lastmentioned structure about said vertical axis.

2. Well safety apparatus comprising a safety valve adapted to be loweredinto a well and actuable between an open condition for passingproduction fluid upwardly through said well and a closed conditionshutting off such fluid flow, and an elongated actuating element toextend upwardly from said valve through the well toward the surface ofthe earth and adapted to be moved longitudinally from its upper end andacting in response to said longitudinal movement to cause actuation ofsaid valve between said two conditions thereof, said safety valveincluding a body, a ball valve element mounted to turn about a generallyhorizontal axis between open and closed positions, means for turningsaid ball valve element about essentially a vertical axis in response tolongitudinal movement of said actuating element, and means for turningsaid ball valve element about said horizontal axis in response to saidturning movement thereof about said vertical axis.

3. Well safety apparatus comprising a safety valve adapted to be loweredinto a well and actuable between an open condition for passingproduction fluid upwardly through said well and a closed conditionshutting off such fluid flow, and an elongated actuating element toextend upwardly from said valve through the well toward the surface ofthe earth and adapted to be moved longitudinally from its upper end andacting in response to said longitudinal movement to cause actuation ofsaid valve between said two conditions thereof, said safety valveincluding a tubular vertically extending body, a tube in said bodymounted for relative upward and downward movement, a spring yieldinglyurging said tube downwardly relative to the body, a connection forsecuring said tube to said actuating element, a tubular part mounted toturn within the body about an essentially vertical axis, cam means forturning said tubular part about said vertical axis in response to upwardmovement of said tube, a ball valve element containing a fluid passageand mounted to turn about a generally horizontal axis between open andclosed positions, and operating means for turning said ball valveelement about said generally horizontal axis in response to turningmovement of said tubular part about a vertical axis.

4. Well safety apparatus as recited in claim 3, including a pressureequalizing valve mounted in a wall of said body and responsive to upwardmovement of said tube to place the interior of the body above said ballvalve element in communication with the exterior of the body.

5. Well safety apparatus as recited in claim 3, in which said operatingmeans include means mounting said ball valve element to said tubularpart to turn about said vertical axis therewith, and a lug projectinginwardly from said body and interfitting with said ball valve element ina relation turning it about said horizontal axis in response to turningmovement of said tubular part and said ball valve element about avertical axis.

6. Well safety apparatus as recited in claim 5, including an upper seatelement spring urged downwardly relative to said tubular part againstthe ball valve element, and a lower seat element spring urged upwardlyrelative to said body against an undersurface of the ball valve element.

7. Well safety apparatus comprising a safety valve adapted to be loweredinto a well and actuable between an open condition for passingproduction fluid upwardly through said well and a closed conditionshutting off such fluid flow, and an elongated actuating element toextend upwardly from said valve through the well toward the surface ofthe earth and adapted to be moved longitudinally from its upper end andacting in response to said longitudinal movement to cause actuation ofsaid valve between said two conditions thereof, said safety valveincluding a hollow tubular body, a ball valve element communicating atits upper side with a portion of the interior of said tubular body andat its underside with the pressure of the well beneath and about thetubular body and mounted to turn about an axis relative to the bodybetween an open position for passing fluid from the well into theportion of the tubular body above the ball valve element and a closedposition preventing such flow, means for turning said ball valve elementfrom one of said positions to the other in response to longitudinalmovement of said actuating element, and a pressure equalizing valve forplacing the interior of said body above the ball valve element incommunication with the pressure of the well about said tubular body inresponse to said longitudinal movement of said actuating element.

8. Well safety apparatus comprising a safety valve adapted to be loweredinto a well and actuable between an open condition for passingproduction fluid upwardly through said well and a closed conditionshutting off such fluid flow, and an elongated actuating element toextend upwardly from said valve through the well toward the surface ofthe earth and adapted to be moved longitudinally from its upper end andacting in response to said longitudinal movement to cause actuation ofsaid valve between said two conditions thereof, said safety valveincluding a tubular body, a safety valve element movable relative tosaid body by said actuating element between said two conditions, andcommunicating at its upper side with a portion of the interior of saidtubular body and at its underside with the pressure of the well, and apressure equalizing valve for placing the interior of said body abovesaid safety valve element in communication with the pressure of thewell.

9. Well safety apparatus as recited in claim 7, in which said means forturning said ball valve element include a tube located within saidhollow body and movable upwardly relative to said body by said actuatingelement, said pressure equalizing valve being mounted in a wall of saidhollow body at a location above said ball valve element and including avalving part which is engageable by said tube and deflectible radiallyoutwardly thereby from closed to open position in response to upwardmovement of the tube relative to said body.

1. Well safety apparatus comprising a safety valve adapted to be loweredinto a well and actuable between an open condition for passingproduction fluid upwardly through said well and a closed conditionshutting off such fluid flow, and an elongated actuating element toextend upwardly from said valve through the well toward the surface ofthe earth and adapted to be moved longitudinally from its upper end andacting in response to said longitudinal movement to cause actuation ofsaid valve between said two conditions thereof, said valve including aball valve element having an external spherically curved surface andcontaining a passage through which production fluid may flow and mountedto turn about an axis between open and closed positions, a memberadapted to be moved vertically by said actuating element, a structuremounted to turn about essentially a vertical axis in response tovertical movement of said member, and means for turning said ball valveelement about its axis in response to said turning movement of said lastmentioned structure about said vertical axis.
 2. Well safety apparatuscomprising a safety valve adapted to be lowered into a well and actuablebetween an open condition for passing production fluid upwardly throughsaid well and a closed condition shutting off such fluid flow, and anelongated actuating element to extend upwardly from said valve throughthe well toward the surface of the earth and adapted to be movedlongitudinally from its upper end and acting in response to saidlongitudinal movement to cause actuation of said valve between said twoconditions thereof, said safety valve including a body, a ball valveelement mounted to turn about a generally horizontal axis between openand closed positions, means for turning said ball valve element aboutessentially a vertical axis in response to longitudinal movement of saidactuating element, and means for turning said ball valve element aboutsaid horizontal axis in response to said turning movement thereof aboutsaid vertical axis.
 3. Well safety apparatus comprising a safety valveadapted to be lowered into a well and actuable between an open conditionfor passing production fluid upwardly through said well and a closedcondition shutting off such fluid flow, and an elongated actuatingelement to extend upwardly from said valve through the well toward thesurface of the earth and adapted to be moved longitudinally from itsupper end and acting in response to said longitudinal movement to causeactuation of said valve between said two conditions thereof, said safetyvalve including a tubular vertically extending body, a tube in said bodymounted for relative upward and downward movement, a spring yieldinglyurging said tube downwardly relative to the body, a connection forsecuring said tube to said actuating element, a tubular part mounted toturn within the body about an essentially vertical axis, cam means forturning said tubular part about said vertical axis in response to upwardmovement of said tube, a ball valve element containing a fluid passageand mounted to turn about a generally horizontal axis between open andclosed positions, and operating means for turning said ball valveelement about said generally horizontal axis in response to turningmovement of said tubular part about a vertical axis.
 4. Well safetyapparatus as recited in claim 3, including a pressure equalizing valvemounted in a wall of said body and responsive to upward movement of saidtube to place the interior of the body above said ball valve element incommunication with the exterior of the body.
 5. Well safety apparatus asrecited in claim 3, in which said operating means include means mountingsaid ball valve element to said tubular part to turn about said verticalaxis therewith, and a lug projecting inwardly from said body andinterfitting with said ball valve element in a relation turning it aboutsaid horizontal axis in reSponse to turning movement of said tubularpart and said ball valve element about a vertical axis.
 6. Well safetyapparatus as recited in claim 5, including an upper seat element springurged downwardly relative to said tubular part against the ball valveelement, and a lower seat element spring urged upwardly relative to saidbody against an undersurface of the ball valve element.
 7. Well safetyapparatus comprising a safety valve adapted to be lowered into a welland actuable between an open condition for passing production fluidupwardly through said well and a closed condition shutting off suchfluid flow, and an elongated actuating element to extend upwardly fromsaid valve through the well toward the surface of the earth and adaptedto be moved longitudinally from its upper end and acting in response tosaid longitudinal movement to cause actuation of said valve between saidtwo conditions thereof, said safety valve including a hollow tubularbody, a ball valve element communicating at its upper side with aportion of the interior of said tubular body and at its underside withthe pressure of the well beneath and about the tubular body and mountedto turn about an axis relative to the body between an open position forpassing fluid from the well into the portion of the tubular body abovethe ball valve element and a closed position preventing such flow, meansfor turning said ball valve element from one of said positions to theother in response to longitudinal movement of said actuating element,and a pressure equalizing valve for placing the interior of said bodyabove the ball valve element in communication with the pressure of thewell about said tubular body in response to said longitudinal movementof said actuating element.
 8. Well safety apparatus comprising a safetyvalve adapted to be lowered into a well and actuable between an opencondition for passing production fluid upwardly through said well and aclosed condition shutting off such fluid flow, and an elongatedactuating element to extend upwardly from said valve through the welltoward the surface of the earth and adapted to be moved longitudinallyfrom its upper end and acting in response to said longitudinal movementto cause actuation of said valve between said two conditions thereof,said safety valve including a tubular body, a safety valve elementmovable relative to said body by said actuating element between said twoconditions, and communicating at its upper side with a portion of theinterior of said tubular body and at its underside with the pressure ofthe well, and a pressure equalizing valve for placing the interior ofsaid body above said safety valve element in communication with thepressure of the well.
 9. Well safety apparatus as recited in claim 7, inwhich said means for turning said ball valve element include a tubelocated within said hollow body and movable upwardly relative to saidbody by said actuating element, said pressure equalizing valve beingmounted in a wall of said hollow body at a location above said ballvalve element and including a valving part which is engageable by saidtube and deflectible radially outwardly thereby from closed to openposition in response to upward movement of the tube relative to saidbody.